ECOWAS Parliament committees want residence permit system abolished

Several committees of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Parliament have called for the abolition of the residence permit system within the region.

This call was made in a draft report presented at the end of their delocalized sittings in Banjul, The Gambia, on Thursday.

The joint committees, which include Social Affairs, Gender and Women Empowerment, Legal Affairs and Human Rights, Political Affairs, Peace, Security, African Peer Review Mechanism (MAEP), Legal and Human Rights, Trade Customs, and Free Movement, argued that the current residence permit system is a barrier to the free movement of citizens across ECOWAS member states.

Read also: ECOWAS Parliament decries poor implementation of free movement protocol

The ECOWAS Residence Permit, also known as the ECOWAS Residence Card, allows citizens of member countries to reside in another ECOWAS country for extended periods for purposes such as business, employment, or personal reasons.

This system was established under the ECOWAS Treaty signed in May 1975, aimed at promoting economic integration and cooperation among West African states, including the free movement of people within the region.

However, the committees believe that the residence permit system contradicts the treaty’s goals by hindering free movement.

“The issuance of residence permits should be completely abolished in the region in conformity with the Community Text, The report will require approval by the plenary before it can be adopted”, the draft report stated.

The parliamentarians expressed concerns about the inconsistent implementation of ECOWAS free movement protocols at borders within West Africa.

They recommended a series of measures to enhance compliance and awareness, including robust sensitization campaigns to educate citizens and government officials on the regional texts, particularly the Protocol on Free Movement.

“The Free Movement Protocol should be made available to all Immigration Officers, especially at border posts,” the report suggests.

It also emphasizes that all training programs for Immigration and Customs officials should include comprehensive education on relevant Community Texts.

The report further recommends deploying officials at border posts to monitor, record, and report incidents of extortion and other malpractices.

It calls on the ECOWAS Commission to ensure all Community Texts signed by Heads of State and Government are fully implemented by member states.

Additionally, the committees urge the full compliance of member states with the ECOWAS Biometric Identification Card initiative.

They also propose that the ECOWAS Commission and Parliament conduct regular reviews of all signed Community Texts at the national level to minimize contradictions between regional texts and national laws.

Earlier in the week, the joint committees held a town hall meeting with stakeholders and an interactive session with border officials in The Gambia and Senegal to assess the implementation of ECOWAS free movement protocols and identify challenges to their full implementation.

The call for the abolition of the residence permit system marked a push towards ensuring seamless movement across West African borders, in line with ECOWAS’s broader objectives of regional integration and cooperation.